Please read:5 kittens, a mom cat, and daddy....not a good time for this!

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Wuss, in Loving MemoryI hiss and- spit....therefor- e I Meow!

Purred: Sun Oct 24, '10 9:25pm PST

(Dictated to Wuss via prayer from mom)
We have 5 kittens, a momma cat, and what I believe to be a male daddy cat show up in our backyard last Tuesday. I am at my wits end. I can't keep them. I have two indoor kids, one outdoor that we just aquired from our neighbors who just did not take care of her (She is 12, and we just took her in for her 1st vet visit!), and a Chihuahua that we adopted from some old neighbors that passed away. We also are renting the house from my inlaws, who are limiting our cats...honestly we can't afford any more right now, as I am out of work. We live in the heart of the San Fernando Vally in Calif, not too far away from a main drag. I have contacted some rescue agencies in the valley here, and are all willing to teach me how to trap, but is up to me to try and place them. My big problem is that I am having sinus surgery on 11/5, and my husband will be having a total knee replacement a week and a half later. I will also be pulling double duty as a part time caregiver to hubbys father who is on an insulin pump, who also lives across the valley. I will have my hands full. Does anyone have any suggestions what I should do? Our local shelter is a kill shelter, and I can't live with having them pick them up. I also was given a number for a group called "Fix Nation", but you have to trap them, take the cats to them to be fixed, then they give them back to you to place. I will not have the time to do it. After my surgery and recovery, I will be taking care of both my husband and his father. This is making me so sick....I just don't know what to do. Right now I am feeding them, and that is better than having them run around. Any advice? I just don't know why this happened now....any other time I could have dealt with it, but not now.

Mom is very sad today.She had to quit her job because of stress, has been working on feeling better,and needs to be strong to take care of Daddy and grandpa after her surgery.She can't slip back, but feels that she is quickly, and is crying alot. She called Fixnation, and the girl on the other line said the earliest they can get the kitties in would be January. By then there will be so many more to deal with. She also told her that all shelters kill; there is no "No Kill" shelter.She feels that all living creatures deserve a chance at a happy life,and is very confused as to what she can do about it.All of us at our house,including Amy the Chihuahua, are rescues of some sort, and she has taken such good care of us.She knows that she will have to take responsibility for the stray kitties, but won't be able to. She will have to take care of daddy and us.Daddy injured himself at work in 1997, and has been living and working with two very bad knees. All he can do after work is come home and lay down. Mommy has been waiting for so long for daddy to get fixed and feel better, and she needs to be strong, because he will be relying on her just as she did on him.....

I feel so bad for you. That is alot to be dealing with, and then having to figure out what to do with a bunch of kitties. I beg to differ with the girl you spoke with - there are too no-kill shelters. Even feeding them helps them, but as we know what happens with kitties that are not fixed.....Is there another rescue group in your area that might be able to help? I know that you def do not have time to trap them, maybe a rescue near you can help. I will try & see if I can find anything online for you....keep your chin up, one of our favorite sayings is that "when things seem their worst, and you feel like you cannot go on, keep moving forward, as it is a bend in the road & things will start looking up. purrs for strength & for your kind heart

Mom dictating: Any other time I could have dealt with this.We lost a child at 5 months, and after that we were never able to have children....so I figured that I was meant to care for the less fortunate animals. We had one cat, Batman, that had CRF, and did everything we could to help him. Then, we had Wuss. All through her life she had one illness or another; Asthma, Steroid induced diabetes from the pills for the Asthma(gave her insullin,tested her blood,and it completely turned around),Inhalor for the Asthma. Then Hyperthyroidism(had radiation treatment for that), which when treated, showed it masked CRF. She passed away from pancreatitus.We have an elderly cat Yetti that has gone deaf recently, and is in early stages of CRF. We have a Chihuahua who grew up in a disfunctional home.We took her in two years after her mom committed suicide, and immediately after her daddy died from drinking himself to death...poor thing was in the house with him for two days until they found her. We were the logical people to take her, as we were the only people to ever pet sit her.She is getting spoiled rotten here,& is a sweet baby.Lenny is a cat that chose us; moved from his house across the street to ours after his previous owners had a baby and threw him out to live 24/7 outside. His previous owners agreed on the move to us. THEN we moved across the valley, and now have Roscoe. She belonged to our next door neighbors for 8 years before we moved in, but also chose us to live with. At 12 years old, we took her in for her 1st vet visit and blood work, and am happy to say she is healthy and free of any diseases or virus'. So, as you can see, we usually go above and beyond. I hope I get through this one. The babies are so cute, and don't believe that they are so wild they could not be tamed.

Paws crossed - we have a preschool behind us,which is also part of a K through high school private school. The children have been talking to the kittens through the fence (there is a type of easment behind out house). I spoke to one of the teachers at the preschool, and asked her to please ask around and see if anyone wants the kittens, and that they need a home. My main concern is the kittens-it seems to me that there might be hope in taming them....I believe momma is beyond taming. Anyway, she said that there are some cats lovers in the school, and will definately pass the word. I told her I would help trap them if someone will take them.

Update on the situation: Daddy is getting his new knee on 11/5 instead of 11/18, and momma is freaking out. She found a lady down the street with traps, and will help mommy trap them. The momma cat has an appointment at Fixnation on monday, and mommy, though she can't afford to because she is out of work, is going to ask Care Credit to up her limit so she can get the rest fixed at the same time.

I was extremely foul last night in the house....kept mommy up all night....All but one cat is trapped now. The daddy, momma cat, and one kitten going in the morning to get fixed, and still waiting on one kitten to go in to get the food in the trap...she is so scared. Trying to stay away from the tuna in the trap, but I am so tempted!

Still have 4 of the 5 kittens in need of a home. Location is Winnetka, Ca (Los Angeles County)The school behind us has started trapping the kittens-they have been pooping in the schoolyard. They have trapped the most socialized of all of them (I miss him so much!). I spoke with the teacher who said that she is taking him home. She said that she had a kitten from the previous litter. I can see the traps through my fence;none are lined with paper, or covered.They have not been checked for days, as one has no food in it, and the other has petrified lunch meat.The people there will not speak to me about it (the school stays to itself-very anti social, and not friendly with the neighbors). Not sure where the others will go when they are trapped. Need to find good homes with people who don't mind socializing them. I have one Long haired black male (fixed/1 shots received, and I am able to pet and hold him for a time), and orange tabby (fixed/1st shots received) who is very timid, a tortoise shell female (fixed/1st shots recd)who is finally letting me pet her and occasionally purrs, and a beautiful Silver tabby with small areas of beige, which goes into spots at her hind end (not fixed/no shots given); she is absolutely beautiful, but have had no contact with her at all. If you know of anyone that can take the time to spocialize any of the kittens, and can commit to a forever home, please help. We are now working on borrowed time here. I am also taking care of my husband who had knee replacement, and who also contracted an infection in the hospital, so there is still just so much I can do. Thanks for reading this post!